Fruitvale BART Shut Down Over Police Shooting Protests
OAKLAND (KCBS / BCN) -- Nearly 100 people gathered at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland Thursday night to protest the fatal shooting of Derrick Jones by two police officers on Monday.
The demonstrators, who marched from a barbershop that Jones, 37, owned at 5815 Bancroft Ave., noted that the Fruitvale station is where unarmed passenger Oscar Grant III was fatally shot by former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle on Jan. 1, 2009.
KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:
Referring to Jones' nickname, which was D.D., protesters chanted, "Oscar Grant, D.D. Jones, We won't let them kill our own."
Speaking to the crowd, Grant's uncle, Cephus Johnson, said, "We're not going nowhere until changes take place" in terms of punishing police officers who kill civilians.
Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison for Grant's shooting.
The Fruitvale Station was closed for about an hour during the protest as a precautionary measure, but no arrests were made, BART police Cmdr. Dan Hartwig said.
Johnson said future protests should take place in upscale areas such as Piedmont, Walnut Creek and the Montclair district in Oakland, which he said are where the judges and police officers live.
"No place is off limits," Johnson said.
Johnson called for people to participate at a town hall meeting on Saturday to "plan a strategic move until change occurs in the community."
He said the meeting would be held at 4 p.m. at the Olivet Baptist Church in Oakland.
Oakland police spokesman Officer Jeff Thomason said the march from the barbershop to the BART station was peaceful, and no arrests were made.
The civil rights group By Any Means Necessary organized the protest. Protesters made speeches in front of the barbershop around 3:30 p.m. before heading to the Fruitvale Station.
Jones was killed Monday when police responded to reports that he had allegedly choked and beat a woman in an attempt to kill her at a laundromat near his barbershop.
He fled when police responded to the alleged attack and was found in the 5800 block of Trask Street, according to police.
Jones was shot after he refused repeated orders to surrender and grabbed at his waistband, police said. An officer saw a metal object in his hand and thought he was armed.
Family members on Tuesday called the shooting outrageous and unjustified. Jones' uncle, Sammy Jones, said his nephew had a wife and young daughter. The woman Jones allegedly attacked was not his wife.
Sammy Jones also said his nephew was a "very docile and humble guy," and there was no history of domestic violence in his family.
Police, however, said Jones was on parole for a gun violation and was previously arrested on charges related to illegal drugs, domestic violence and resisting arrest.
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